Hinduism And Hinduism: One Of The World's Religions

What is Hinduism? Hinduism is one of the oldest of the world’s religions today. Hinduism originated from the country known as India. Hinduism is a religion with no precise beginning. There is no single founder but we do know that this religion dates back to prehistoric time. Hinduism is a very diverse and complex religion. It is best understood not as a single tradition but as a group of interconnected traditions. The most recognized beliefs and traditions of Hinduism are Karma, Dharma, Samsara and Moksha. People who follow Hinduism do not believe in violence. Instead they believe in prayers, honesty, and truth. In the video we watched in class, we learned that spiritual tourists traveled to India as a place to escape from the modern world. There was a family who has seen much prosperity in these recent years.

The Gupta family has an alter in which they burn a candle and offer food to the statue. They also sing and chant ritual prayers. In the Catholic religion we do the same thing. In my household, we have an alter in which we also burn a candle and offer food. The only difference is that we do not sing but instead we chant rosary prayers. Both religions also have temples which are filled with statues and golden artifacts. In India, religious practice is localized and individualized. They meet up and have someone act a priest between the people and God. In the Catholic religion, our practices are also localized. We will usually meet up at a church and we will pray and sing along with our priest. Another thing both these religions have in common is that both Hindus and Catholics pray before anything else. The only difference that I know of because of the video is that Hindus also do yoga and meditate in order to escape from the modern world. As a Catholic, my family nor I have ever meditated or done yoga. I have not met another Catholic that does this